Quote of the day, renewables edition

[Politicians] have helped persuade us to spend billions on technologies that are never going to make much difference.

Dieter Helm on the state of the climate

Comments

[golf charlie]

Dieter Helm, an economist, blames politicians.

I hope he is a better economist than judge of accountability. Unless of course he is saying that all climate scientists just want to play politics, because they know their 'science' sucks.

[Messenger]

Politicians haven't really "helped persuade us" -they have forced it on us without listening to our opinions.

[Phillip Bratby]

I never got to vote on wasting billions on useless technology.

[turningtide]

Politicians can spot a quick buck when they see one: how many of them have trousered large amounts of subsidies or taken up lucrative posts with renewables companies?

Funny how the useful idiots who rail against "the 1%" and campaign for justice and equality, cannot see that renewables are a massive scam, though: they don't seem to be too bothered about the subsidies ending up in the hands of people who are already doing very well,thank you.

[Joe Public]

Politicians rarely 'persuade' us; but they do frequently 'con' us.

It's their job.

[Mikky]

Helm says: "but the climate cannot withstand another 15 years of ever-higher emissions from China."

He is right to point out the disastrous effect of politicians, but fake science is the main problem for the West, not so for India and China, who seem to be handling themselves very well.

[diogenese2]

No-one is reading the link properly. Helm does not blame politicians but "rock stars and publicity seekers"! Moreover these are also blamed for Germany's nuclear policy.
Moreover the Professor considers it "a danger" if politicians turn their attention from climate change back to "Syria, Ukraine and the South China Sea".
Mind you, he might have a case there......

[jamspid]

DELLINGPOLE

Wanna get busy

Get your Clark Kent Journalist mates at Briebart talking to the local Paris Cops Hookers and drug dealers and see what naughtiness our Climate Delegates are getting up to.

Jon Snow in the Peace and Meditation Room at the Paris Climate Conferance was me were those people mediating or sleeping of a heavy afternoon in the Bar.

Good little scoop for any journalist follow the delegates around the Bars Resturants and Brothels of bullet strewn Paris.

Or perhaps into the Toilet Cubicals and swab the seats for Cocaine . As we are aware it's important negotiattions at the French Tax Payers expense

[michael hart]

Well, I read as far as:

They [top down agreements] have not worked in the past, and if mitigation is to rely on them, we will probably fry.

I call twat.

Sorry. There is no other word.

[CoffeeTime]

I read the article the same way diogenese2 does. I do not believe that "[Politicians]" are the people the author is referring to.

The full quote is

Amongst the 40,000 will be rock stars and publicity seekers. Many will have vested interests, chasing after subsidies. These are not the people the politicians should listen to. They have helped persuade us to spend billions on technologies that are never going to make much difference.

[stewgreen]

The quote is wrong and Golf Charlie and all got hold of the wrong end of the stick as @diogenese2 said.

...rock stars and publicity seekers (& subsidy seekers) ...
have helped persuade us to spend billions on technologies that are never going to make much difference.

Worse they have sometimes made matters worse – encouraging the closure of existing nuclear power stations and facilitating the great expansion of lignite mining and coal-based emissions in Germany for example. At Paris, perhaps a minute’s silence might be staged for the prospect that German will probably not even meet its 2020 targets, despite the great economic crisis.

Why believe future pledges, when a “leader” on climate change cannot even meet its current ones?